Cotton harvester

ABSTRACT

Cotton harvester structure including centrally located, transversely mounted engine, rear mounted water and fuel tanks, and transversely centered conveyor fan having an upper, forwardly extending outlet located just below the level of the cab floor for improved weight distribution, air hose routing and air flow. The fan rotates about a transversely extending axis parallel to the engine crankshaft axis. The crankshaft and fan are connected by a belt and sheave assembly having an electric clutch mounted on a shaft assembly and located outside of the frame. The shaft assembly provides fan support, separates the fan inlet from the clutch, reduces lubrication requirements, and enhances accessibility. 
     Two variable displacement hydraulic pumps connected to the row unit drive and ground drive motors, respectively, are driven in tandem from the crankshaft at one side of the engine and are adjustable to vary the ratio of row unit speed to harvester ground speed over a range of ratios, including a ratio that synchronizes ground speed and row unit speed. A side mounted radiator with a rotary cleaner is located on the opposite side of the frame between the front and rear wheels. The water and fuel tanks are nested closely to each other and extend rearwardly of the rear wheels.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/101,206, filed3 Aug. 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,779.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention:

The present invention relates generally to cotton harvesters and, morespecifically, to improvements in the chassis, unit and ground drives,and air system of such harvesters for providing better weightdistribution, improved air flow, and increased accessibility,serviceability and productivity.

2) Related Art:

Cotton harvesters such as the commercially available John Deere Model9960 Cotton Picker include a plurality of row units supported from theforward end of a main frame. The main frame is supported for movementover the ground by rear steerable wheels and forward drive wheelslocated below the cab behind the row units. A water or cleaning solutiontank is located behind the cab for supplying cleaning fluid to moistenercolumns in the row units. An engine with a fore-and-aft extendingcrankshaft is supported by the frame rearwardly of the drive wheels andbehind a cage-type centrifugal fan. The fan is belt driven from a sheaveon the crankshaft for rotation about a fore-and-aft extending axis. Thefan output is offset from the harvester centerline and opens downwardlyinto a lower rectangular plenum having air outlets on the bottom andsidewalls. The nozzles located on cotton conveying ducts are connectedto the outlets by flexible conduits which are routed from the plenumupwardly and forwardly around the solution tank and cab.

Some cotton harvesters have split air systems which utilize two fans,one for each side of the machine. Split systems require twice as manyfan drives and longer lengths of air ducts and air hoses, which add tothe weight and complexity of the harvester. Both the split and singlefan systems have fan bearings that must be greased at regular intervalsand are relatively difficult to access and service.

Increased cotton yields coupled with the use of more high capacity rowunits per machine require greater air flow to adequately convey cotton.The available air systems with outlets coming off at an angle to fan airflow require a relatively large number of parts, and the outlets areoften removed a substantial distance behind and below the nozzle areasof the cotton conveying ducts so that long air tubes with complexhorizontal and vertical routings are required between the fan and thenozzles. The relatively tortious and lengthy path between the fan outputand the duct nozzle limits efficiency of most present air systems andadditional cotton handling capacity can only be achieved by increasingthe power to the fan.

Weight distribution on a cotton harvester is a significant designconsideration and a continual source of difficulty. A large amount ofthe weight of cotton harvester has to be carried on the forward drivewheels. The weight distribution becomes more critical as the rowharvesting capacity is increased by adding more row units ahead of thedrive wheels and a larger basket to adequately handle the higher pickingcapacity of machine. In addition, the present water tank locationdirectly behind the cab puts most of the weight of the tank and itscontents on the front drive wheels. The close proximity of the watertank to the ducts of the pneumatic conveying system limits tankconfiguration and duct placement.

Providing adequate space for the hydraulic pumps that drive a cottonharvester and attachments has also been a continuing source of problemswith conventional cotton harvester chassis configurations. The mainhydraulic pump drives a hydro motor which powers a transmission fordriving the ground wheels and providing row unit drive which isdependant on forward harvester speed. At high speeds, increased loads oncomponents such as those in the spindle drive can increase maintenanceand repair costs. Spindle speeds outside a generally acceptable rangecan also reduce picking efficiency. Recently, to increase harvester lifeand productivity, attempts have been made to add structure to vary rowunit drum speed relative to spindle speed. Such attempts have beenhindered by space limitations and the complexity of variable speedtransmissions.

A fluid pump for delivering spindle cleaning liquid from the solutiontank to the row units is typically powered from the conveyor fan by abelt drive. The belt drive is costly and adds maintenance requirementsin a location that is not easily accessed.

Presently available chassis configurations on cotton harvester withfore-and-aft mounted engines typically utilize side mounted screens tofilter dust and debris from the air for the cooling systems on theharvester. The hostile environment of the harvester requires that thescreens be cleaned manually at regular intervals, for example, each timethe basket is dumped, to avoid inefficient cooling and overheating.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved cotton harvester. It is another object to provide such aharvester which overcomes all or nearly all of the above-mentionedproblems. It is a further object to provide such a harvester having animproved chassis configuration. It is still another object to providesuch a harvester with an engine and tank configuration for better weightdistribution and service features than at least most previouslyavailable harvesters.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedcotton harvester having a more efficient and less complex air systemthan at least most previously available harvesters. It is another objectto provide an efficient air system in which air delivery from fan outletto cotton conveying ducts is shorter and more direct with less tortiousair duct routings. It is yet another object to provide such a systemwhich has an improved mounting and clutch arrangement. It is stillanother object to provide an improved pump drive for such a harvester.

It is another object to provide an improved cotton harvester with animproved chassis configuration so that additional components such ashydraulic pumps and/or air cleaning mechanisms may be added in easilyaccessed locations.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cottonharvester with an improved engine and air system configuration. It isanother object to provide such a harvester with an improved air screenstructure which requires less maintenance than the systems on mostpreviously available cotton harvesters.

It is another object to provide an improved ground and row unit drivearrangement for a cotton picker. It is a further object to provide sucha drive which is relatively simple in construction and is simple tocontrol, and wherein row unit speed may be synchronized with groundspeed or varied over a range of speeds relative to ground speed to bestsuit existing cotton crop conditions.

Cotton harvester structure is provided having a centrally located,transversely mounted engine and rear mounted water and fuel tanks forimproved weight distribution and better accessibility. The conveyor fanis centered between the frame side beams and has an upper, forwardlyextending outlet located just below the level of the cab floor. The fanrotates about a transversely extending axis parallel to the enginecrankshaft axis. The crankshaft and fan are connected by a belt andsheave assembly on one side of the main frame. An electric clutchmounted on a fan shaft is located a substantial distance from the faninlet. The fan shaft is rotatably mounted by bearings in a tubing fixedto the fan housing and to the frame. The fan configuration providesimproved fan support, reduces lubrication requirements, and enhancesaccessibility to the clutch. A solution pump may be mounted directly onthe fan shaft so that belt or other indirect drive arrangements areeliminated.

Variable displacement hydraulic pumps connected to fixed displacementrow unit and ground drive motors are supported by an auxiliary sideframe and powered in tandem from the crankshaft at one side of theengine. A third pump for accessories is supported from the side frameand driven by a belt from a crankshaft pulley. The tandem pumps haveadjustable control arm structure so that the ratio of row unit drivespeed to ground speed can be varied over a range of ratios including aratio wherein drum speed is synchronized with ground speed for zerorelative forward velocity between the spindles and plant, or ratioswhere drum speed is increased or decreased relative to ground speed forbetter accommodating a variety of picking conditions.

A side-mounted radiator with a rotary cleaner is located outside theframe between the front and rear wheels on the side of the frameopposite the auxiliary side frame and eliminates frequent manual screencleaning operations. The water and fuel tanks are suspended between themain fore-and-aft beams of the main frame rearwardly of the rear wheelsto reduce front drive wheel loads and provide better harvester weightbalance.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon readingthe following detailed description in view of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cotton harvester constructed in accordancewith the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the chassis of the harvester of FIG. 1 withportions removed to better show the fan, engine and tank configuration.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the forward portion of the harvesterof FIG. 1 showing the fan structure relative to the cab and innerconveying ducts.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top view, partially in section, of the fanassembly and water pump for the harvester of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged bottom view of the tandem hydraulic pumps shown inFIG. 2, and showing control arm structure for varying relative output ofthe pumps to change the ratio of ground speed to row unit speed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, therein is shown a cotton harvester 10having a fore-and-aft extending main frame 12 with main side frame beams12m and a plurality transverse connecting members 12c. The frame 12 isgenerally rectangular in configuration and is supported horizontallyabove the ground on forward drive wheels 14 and aft steerable wheels 16.A cab 18 is centered between the drive wheels 14 and includes floorstructure 18f. A plurality of row units 20 are supported from theforward end of the frame 12 in transversely spaced relationship forvertical movement between transport and field-working positions by aconventional lift system (not shown). Each row unit houses aconventional cotton picking structure including spindle drums 22rotatable by row unit drives 23 about upright axes for moving columns ofspindles into picking relationship with cotton plants. Cotton conveyingducts 24 extend upwardly and rearwardly from the units 20 to a cottonbasket 30 carried on the frame 12 behind the cab 18.

Detailed Description of the Chassis:

The harvester 10 is powered by an engine 40 mounted transversely on theframe 12 between the front drive wheels 14 and the rear wheels 16. Amain drive sheave 42 mounted on the engine crankshaft projects outwardlyfrom the side frame beam 12m on one side (the left side as shown in FIG.2) of the frame 12. A radiator 44 and a mechanical air cleaner 45 aresupported on the opposite or right side of the frame 12 outwardly of thebeam 12m between the front and rear wheels 14 and 16. Preferably, thecleaner 45 is a self-cleaning rotary screen cleaner generally of thetype utilized on the John Deere Model 9000 Combine. Such a cleaner isalso shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,487 of common ownership with thepresent application.

A water or cleaning solution tank 46 is supported near the aft end ofthe frame 12. A fuel tank 48 is also mounted on the aft end of the frame12 closely adjacent the aft face of the tank 46. The water tank 46 andfuel tank 48 lie substantially entirely behind the axles of the wheels16 and include transverse ledges 47 and 49, respectively, supported onthe tops of the beams 12m. The tank 46 is L-shaped (FIG. 1) and extendsrearwardly from a location above the axles of the wheels 16 anddownwardly to a lowermost section below the beam 12m. The fuel tank 48includes a forward face abutting against the rear face of the tank 46and also extends below the frame 12. When filled or partially filled,the tanks have a relatively low center of gravity. Both tanks 46 and 48have sidewalls which diverge outwardly at bend locations 46b and 48babove the frame 12 to provide increased capacity and conform generallyto the profile of the harvester 10.

An air system 50 includes a centrifugal fan assembly 52 (FIG. 2)supported by the frame 12 generally on the centerline 10c of theharvester forward of the engine 40 and behind the cab 18. A fan drive54, partially located outwardly of the frame 12, operably connects theengine sheave 42 and the fan assembly 52. A centralized air distributionchamber 56 is connected to the fan assembly 52 and to flexible airtubings 58 and 58' adjacent the cab floor 18f to distribute air to thecotton conveying ducts 24.

A hydraulic pump 60 for powering a row unit drive 61 and a second pump62 for powering a hydraulic transmission 63 are connected in tandem andin line with the transverse engine 40 on the left side of the frame 12.The pump 60 is connected to the engine crankshaft by a drive shaft 64. Ahydraulic accessory pump 66 for machine functions such as row unit lift,basket dump, and compactor drive is connected to an auxiliary frame 72which extends outwardly from the main frame 12. The pump 66 is driven bya belt drive including a sheave 76 located between the engine and thefirst pump 60, and a sheave 78 on the pump shaft. The auxiliary frame 72provides support and protection for the pumps 60, 62 and 66. A beamreinforcing weldment 12w extends over the area of the sheave 42 at theleft end of the engine, and engine mounting brackets depend from theweldment area.

Detailed Description of the Air System:

The main drive sheave 42 on the engine 40 is aligned with a sheave 82outside of the beam 12m and driven by a belt 86 An electric clutch 88remotely operable by a fan switch (not shown) in the cab 18 is supportedwith the sheave 84 on the distal end of a transverse shaft 90. The shaft90 is rotatably mounted by bearings 91 and 92 in a tube 93 which extendstoward the center of the harvester and is connected to a fan housing 96with sides defining central air inlets 98 of circular configuration. Theinner end of the shaft 90 is connected to a fan rotor 100 locatedgenerally on the centerline 10c of the harvester 10. The rotor 100rotates about the transverse and generally horizontal shaft axisslightly above the plane defined by the top of the frame beams 12m.Inner and outer brackets 102 and 103, which are part of a weldment whichincludes the tube 92 and are connected fan housing 96, support the fanassembly 52 on the frame 12 and provide improved shaft alignment andreduced lubrication requirements.

The fan housing 96 extends upwardly and forwardly (FIG. 3) to an upperfan outlet 104 which opens in the forward direction on the harvestercenterline 10c just below the level of the cab floor 18f. The airdistribution chamber 56 includes a rear portion 106 which is connectedto and opens into the fan outlet 104. The chamber 56 includes a pair ofupper output ports 110 opening forwardly and outwardly toward the outerrow unit ducts 24. Located below the output ports 110 are a pair offorwardly opening output ports 112 connected by flexible tubings 58' tocorresponding inner duct nozzles 114'. The ports 110 are connected tothe respective outer duct nozzles 114 by the flexible tubings 58. Thenozzles 114', 114 direct air upwardly into the ducts 24 to induce airflow in the ducts below the nozzles and propel cotton into the basket30. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the upper output ports 110 openinto a pair of chamber extensions 115, 116 which divide the air flowfrom the ports 110 for delivery through the flexible tubings 58 toaccommodate up to two pairs of outer row units 20. Individual outletports of the chamber extensions 115, 116 may be capped for harvesterconfigurations having fewer row units.

The air distribution chamber 56 as shown directs air at a maximum angleof only about 45 degrees to the right and about 50 degrees to the left.Within the chamber extensions 115, 116 air is turned less thanapproximately 20 degrees. The flexible tubings 58 and 58' aresubstantially horizontal and provide a relatively non-tortious air path.Once in the flexible tubings 58 and 58' the air is directed to thenozzles by being turned along an arc of relatively large radius. Theincluded angle between the ends of the arc is preferably about 110degrees. The resulting direct air path from the fan to the nozzles hasbeen found to increase air system efficiency by more than 15 percentover conventional harvester air systems for increased cotton handlingcapacity without increased power to the fan.

Detailed Description of the Row Unit and Ground Drives:

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, the row unit drive pump 60 is preferably anaxial piston variable displacement pump having a control arm with pivot120 rotatable about a pivot axis to vary pump output. A hydraulic line124 connects the pump 60 to a constant displacement hydro motor 128 onthe row unit drive 61. The motor 128 is mounted at a central location onone of the transverse connecting members 12c by a bracket which extendsupwardly form the frame at a location forwardly adjacent the fan outlet104. A sheave 130 is connected to the motor 128 for rotation about afore-and-aft extending axis. Two row unit drive shaft assemblies 134,136are connected by brackets to the frame 12 and include pulleys 144,146driven by belts trained around the sheave 130. The assemblies 134,136are similar in construction to the tube and shaft arrangement describedabove for the fan drive 54 and include enclosed, bearing mounted shaftsextending forwardly to connections with the row unit drives 23.

The pump 62 is an axial piston variable displacement pump similar to thepump 60. The pump 62 is fixed to the outer end of the pump 60, and thepump shafts are aligned and are connected at location 148 (FIG. 5). Thepump 62 includes a control arm with a pivot 150 rotatable about a pivotaxis to vary pump output. A hydraulic line 154 connects the pump 62 to aconstant displacement hydro motor 158 which powers the transmission 63to drive the wheels 14. The pumps 60 and 62 are preferably of the typeknown as Series 90 pumps commercially available in the tandemarrangement from Sauer Sundstrand Corporation of Ames, Iowa.

As shown in FIG. 5, control of the pumps 60 and 62 is provided viapush-pull cable 160 connected at a first end to a control lever (notshown) in the cab 18 and at a distal end to a control linkage on thepumps. The control linkage shown in FIG. 5 includes an L-bracket 164fixed for rotation with the pump (60) control arm pivot 120. An eye-bolt166 is mounted on an upright flange f of the bracket 164 and isconnected to the cable 160 at a location radially outwardly of the pivot120. A second eye-bolt 168 is connected to the bracket 164 and to theproximate end of a connecting link 170. A second L-bracket 172 is fixedfor rotation with the pump (62) control arm pivot 150. An eye-bolt 176extends radially from the bracket 172 and is connected to the distal endof the link 170 such that the control arms are operated in unison fromthe single push-pull cable 160 to simultaneously vary the outputs of thepumps 60 and 62.

Preferably, the control linkage of FIG. 5 is adjustable to provide arange of row unit speed/ground speed ratios generally centered about aratio wherein the speed of the drums 22 is synchronized with the groundspeed of the harvester 10. The relative outputs of the pumps 60 and 62may be varied from those which provide fully synchronized drum/groundspeed operation in order to speed up or slow down the unit driverelative to ground drive for accommodating various harvesting conditionsincluding unusually high- or low-yielding cotton. Speed ratios may beadjusted by varying the length of the connecting link 170 to vary theangular relationship of the control arm pivots. Alternatively, ratioadjustment may be achieved by changing the length of eye-bolt 168 or 176protruding from the corresponding bracket flange, or by placing one ofthe eye-bolts in a different hole location along the length of thecorresponding L-bracket. It is to be understood that numerousarrangements for varying the control arm positions relative to eachother may be employed, including commercially available remotelyadjustable linkages specifically designed for the Series 90 pumps.

The linkage structure between the control arm pivots 120 and 150 ispreferably adjustable such that the relative outputs of the pumps can bevaried sufficiently to provide row unit/ground drive speed variations ina range of approximately ±5% from the synchronized condition. Forexample, in low-yielding cotton where high ground speeds are desirable,the linkage is adjusted to lower row unit drive speed relative to groundspeed so that spindle overspeed conditions are avoided. In high-yieldingcotton, slower ground speed drive is desirable without slowing spindlespeed below a minimum speed wherein picking efficiency noticeablydeteriorates, so the linkage is adjusted to increase row unit drivespeed relative to ground speed.

Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent thatvarious modifications can be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

We claim:
 1. In a cotton harvester having a fore-and-aft extending main frame supported for forward movement in a range of speeds over the ground by forward drive wheels and rear steerable wheels, a hydraulic transmission connected to the drive wheels, at least one row unit connected to the forward end of the frame and having variable speed harvesting structure including a spindle drum rotatable about an upright axis for removing cotton from rows of cotton plants, an engine supported by the frame and having a crankshaft rotatable about an axis, controllable drive structure comprising:a first hydraulic motor drivingly connected to the transmission; a second hydraulic motor drivingly connected to the row unit harvesting structure; first and second variable output pumps connected to the first hydraulic motor and second hydraulic motor, respectively, the pumps connected in tandem at one end of the engine and drivingly connected to the engine; means for selectively varying the output of the first and second pumps relative to each other for varying the ratio of the harvesting structure to the forward ground speeds, the means for selectively varying including an adjustable linkage extending between the pumps; and wherein the engine is supported on the frame transverse to the forward direction and the pumps extend axially outwardly from the engine.
 2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the first and second pumps are connected in axial alignment at one end of the engine.
 3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein the pumps include drive axes which are supported in axial alignment with each other and with the crankshaft axis at one end of the engine.
 4. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein the engine is supported on the frame transverse to the forward direction and the pumps extend transversely outwardly from the engine at one side of the frame.
 5. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein the first and second hydraulic motors comprise fixed displacement motors, and the variable output pumps comprise variable displacement pumps with moveable control arms, and means for moving the control arms in unison from a remote location.
 6. The invention as set forth in claim 5 wherein the adjustable linkage comprises means for adjusting the positions of the control arms relative to each other.
 7. The invention as set forth in claim 5 wherein the means for moving the control arms in unison comprises a push-pull cable connected to one of the control arms and a link connected between the control arms.
 8. The invention as set forth in claim 2 further including an a third pump connected to the frame adjacent the variable output pumps, a sheave connected for rotation with the crankshaft, and a belt drive connecting the third pump and the sheave.
 9. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein the means for varying the output of the first and second pumps includes linkage structure for varying the output of the second pump relative to the first pump over a range of outputs, the range of outputs including an output wherein the ground speed and drum speed are synchronized.
 10. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the frame includes a fore-and-aft extending main frame structure supporting the engine, and further including an auxiliary frame extending outwardly from the main frame structure and supporting the pumps therefrom.
 11. The invention as set forth in claim 10 further including a third pump connected to the auxiliary frame adjacent the variable output pumps, a sheave connected for rotation with the crankshaft, and a belt drive connecting the third pump and the sheave.
 12. In a cotton harvester having a fore-and-aft extending main frame supported for forward movement in a range of speeds over the ground by forward drive wheels and rear steerable wheels, a hydraulic transmission connected to the drive wheels, at least one row unit connected to the forward end of the frame and having variable speed harvesting structure including a spindle drum rotatable about an upright axis for removing cotton from rows of cotton plants, an engine supported by the frame and having a crankshaft rotatable about an axis, controllable drive structure comprising:a first hydraulic motor drivingly connected to the transmission; a second hydraulic motor drivingly connected to the row unit harvesting structure; first and second variable output pumps connected to the first hydraulic motor and second hydraulic motor, respectively, the pumps connected in tandem at one end of the engine and drivingly connected to the engine; means for selectively varying the output of the first and second pumps relative to each other for varying the ratio of the harvesting structure to the forward ground speeds, the means for selectively varying including an adjustable linkage extending between the pumps; and wherein the pumps include drive axes which are supported in axial alignment with each other and parallel to the crankshaft axis at one end of the engine.
 13. The invention as set forth in claim 12 wherein the engine is supported on the frame transverse to the forward direction and the pumps extend transversely outwardly from the engine at one side of the frame.
 14. The invention as set forth in claim 13 wherein the first and second hydraulic motors comprise fixed displacement motors, and the variable output pumps comprise variable displacement pumps with moveable control arms, and means for moving the control arms in unison from a remote location.
 15. The invention as set forth in claim 13 further including an auxiliary frame selectively attachable to the main frame and supporting the variable output pumps. 